North Carolina sues Vietnam's VinFast over delayed EV project

HANOI, May 22 (Reuters) - The ‌State of ​North ​Carolina has sued Vietnamese EV maker VinFast for its alleged failure to meet its commitments to build an electric ‌vehicle and battery factory in the state, Attorney General ⁠Jeff Jackson said in a statement.

• VinFast has abandoned work on the 712-hectare (1,759-acre) ‌site in Chatham County for ‌over a year, according to the statement issued on Thursday.

• VinFast was earlier licenced to build the plant with commitments ​to create 7,500 jobs and invest over $3 billion in North Carolina, the statement said.

• "VinFast has defaulted on its agreements with ⁠the State, and VinFast's continued inaction all but guarantees imminent further default," it said.

• ​VinFast didn't immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

• In 2022, VinFast said the plant would have ​an annual production capacity of 150,000 ‌vehicles. In 2024, it said it would delay the launch of the plant to 2028 amid market ⁠uncertainties.

• North Carolina should be allowed to exercise its option to purchase the land for a future manufacturer, and wants to be repaid $80 million ⁠allocated to VinFast for site preparation, the statement said.

• VinFast initially targeted ​to have the factory up and running by July 1 this year, but had later said it couldn't do so until 2028, according to the ‌statement.

• VinFast announced last week it will sell its Vietnamese manufacturing business for 13.3 trillion dong ($506 ‌million) to a group of investors who will also assume roughly $6.9 ⁠billion in debt.

• Shares in ‌Vingroup, VinFast's parent company, ​fell 3.5% on Friday morning in Hanoi.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu, Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen; Editing by ‌David Stanway)

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